• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, February 23, 2006

When it wanted to generate buzz for the PSP, Sony hired graffiti artists to sketch pictures of kids partaking in ordinary childhood activities -- licking a Popsicle, skateboarding, and playing with a jack-in-the-box. But the mega-brand ended up looking more like the class bully when it became the target of backlash over the legal, commissioned work.

The ads bore no branding, but upon closer inspection, consumers in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles noticed that the skateboard, Popsicle, and jack-in-the-box were, in fact, PSP consoles. Though the ads were legal, many consumers complained that they too closely resembled graffiti, sending a signal to kids that it's okay to vandalize public property.

"The Sony ads were an example of a big company trying to affect a guerrilla mindset by saying, 'We are not advertising to you, we are you,'" says Scott Cohn, creative director at Night Agency, a boutique shop known for its guerrilla marketing tactics.

"It's very dangerous to attempt that kind of communication, and with today's corporation-weary kids, you are almost guaranteeing backlash -- which some have speculated was an intended effect, though I truly doubt it," Cohn says, adding, "I think they were trying to be real and it bit them in the ass."